Irregular maritime migration across the Bay of Bengal to Southeast Asia entered a period of crisis in spring 2015 as a wave of migrants and refugees crossed, most departing from ports in Myanmar and Bangladesh, with many facing critical danger along the way. This MPI-IOM Issue in Brief puts the crisis into context and offers a consideration of what recent history has to teach about responses to maritime migration crises.

Today's refugee protection regime, established in the aftermath of World War II, is ill-equipped to meet the protection needs of contemporary displacement situations. This report explores the main sources of strain on the existing system of protection, and examines the two most promising avenues for strengthening the system: development- and mobility-focused approaches.

The number of women migrants in many countries in the Asia-Pacific region is on the rise. While migration can provide unique opportunities for female workers to improve their livelihoods and gain greater autonomy, it also exposes them to new types of vulnerability and discrimination. This brief looks at the trends and patterns in female labor migration in the Asia-Pacific region as well as key policy challenges relating to female migration.

In light of the recognition of the need for a new approach to immigrant integration policy in the European Union, policymakers and other actors are beginning to look at the role that origin countries can play in the integration process. This policy brief explores the transnational dynamics at work behind the scenes of integration policy, including wider sociopolitical factors in origin and destination countries.

While a number of major migrant-sending countries like Morocco and Turkey have started to take an active role in the integration of their migrants abroad, the role of subnational authorities has been overshadowed by diaspora engagement initiatives at the national level. This report investigates how the activities of origin countries' regional and local institutions may improve the lives of emigrants to Member States of the European Union.

While there is growing consensus on the value of immigrant integration support prior to departure, such initiatives generally have not fully realized their potential. This policy brief reviews promising examples of predeparture measures for labor market integration in Europe that are jointly designed and/or run by origin- and destination-country actors, illustrating their potential to help effectively address some of the most stubborn obstacles to successful integration.

Remittances are among the most tangible links between migration and development. International migrants are expected to remit more than $550 billion in earnings in 2013, of which $414 billion will flow to developing countries. These multimedia maps visualize global remittance flows numerically or as a share of GDP.

From the Chinese in London to African immigrants in the United States, MPI's research on diaspora engagement examines the challenges and opportunities of diasporas across the globe and their impacts in their countries of origin.

For an increasing number of scholars, international migration has undergone a transformation particularly in the last decade or so. Although circular migration’s impact on development is far from settled, a review of the current literature suggests increasing optimism about its developmental potential.

Previously confined to everyday conversations among migrants and their families, remittances are now on the minds of most governments, members of civil society, the international community, and, to some extent, the private sector. The continued deficiency in our understanding of some of the fundamental aspects of remittances is evident in current literature.

This report examines the connections between the United States’ temporary and permanent systems of admission to the United States. It describes the goals and structure of each system, discusses the relationship between immigrant and nonimmigrant admission flows, and describes the critical data gaps that impede understanding of the underlying realities of immigration to the United States.

This volume finds that while emigration may be beneficial in some cases, unhindered high-skilled emigration, particularly in the case of sub-Saharan Africa, can have disastrous consequences. The author, Arno Tanner, recommends specific policies where carefully targeted development measures could be used to mitigate the negative consequences of brain drain.

Over the past four years, the United States has resettled far fewer refugees than it did in the 1990s. The decline has stemmed partly from post-9/11 security measures. But this book explains other, deeper reasons, deriving from changes in how and why refugees move, how asylum states receive them, and the world community's response. It also suggests steps to restore the program and better address real refugee needs.

This report analyzes the impact of established diaspora on the reduction of poverty in their countries of origin. It examines their contributions beyond individual remittances, in the dimensions of foreign direct investment, market development, technology transfer, philanthropy, tourism, political contributions, and the more intangible flows of knowledge, new attitudes, and cultural influence.

This policy brief provides a background to the conflict and humanitarian situation in Darfur. While the situation in Darfur may not fit the definition of genocide in the traditional sense, the brief makes the case that semantics should not interfere with the international community’s obligation to protect civilians.

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About the Program

The Migrants, Migration, and Development Program focuses on the intersection of migration and development policies and trends, moving beyond simple notions that development is a “cure” for migration or that migration is a recipe for development. For more on the program, click here.

Related Work

How do governments institutionalize their ties with diasporas? Check out ourTaxonomy of Diaspora-Engaging Institutions, which describes briefly the activities and objectives of government institutions found in 30 developing countries.

In the Spotlight

Brussels Launch of the Diaspora Handbook

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Under the auspices of MPI Europe and the International Organization for Migration (IOM), panelists at this report launch in Brussels discuss the joint MPI-IOM handbook, Developing a Road Map for Engaging Diasporas in Development. Among the topics of discussion: How governments can best cooperate with the largely spontaneous engagements of diasporas with their homelands.

Free Book Download: Diasporas: New Partners in Global Development Policy

​The volume, which examines the development impact of diasporas in six critical areas—entrepreneurship, investment in country-of-origin capital markets, heritage tourism and trade, philanthropy, volunteering, and advocacy—is now available to download for free in its entirety.